Principal's Message

Kia Ora Koutou

The Autumn season is a favourite for me ( before the leaves fall in abundance). In Autumn, the growing cycle gives us ripeness and maturity. The harvest is associated with abundance, prosperity, and wealth. Humans too experience an “autumn”. If spring represents new birth and childhood, and summer symbolizes youth, autumn represents adulthood and maturity. I did some searching about Autumn and made some parallels for us at school, which I thought would be interesting for you to read.

Thinking about autumn can bring about some pleasant thoughts. Symbolic associations with Autumn are powerful reminders that Mother Nature has an incredible influence on our lives.

"The only constant is change." Autumn reminds us that our bodies, minds, and surroundings are always developing. It focuses on the impermanence of life, emphasizing how vital it is to embrace the present. We are surrounded by your teenagers who are facing changes every day so appreciating and celebrating those changes are a part of life; just makes sense doesn’t it?

Autumn represents the preservation of life. One of the Marks of Mission is TREASURE, so during this time preservation is all about that mission. Animals prepare for the winter by storing food and creating cozy spaces. We tend to retreat indoors and focus on cultivating a safe and comforting home. In a way, the autumn season offers us a chance to reconnect with ourselves as we preserve our safe havens. Our girls will also retreat into dry spaces and we are investigating useful activities for them to engage in over these colder months.

As summer becomes autumn, we exercise self-protection by wearing layers and thicker fabrics. We also tend to focus on our health by boosting our immunity through habits and nutrition. Ultimately, autumn doubles as practice for heightened awareness of yourself and surroundings.

Day and night are approximately the same duration in Autumn so I suppose we can associate the concept of balance in our lives with this season, more that we try to find that.

As the leaves are falling, autumn illustrates the beauty of letting go. That does not have to be considered morbid. Instead, we can apply this concept to letting go of things that stress us and making fresh starts.

Evacuation processes for the Boarding Houses are being conducted. Just to resassure you one of the things we have checked with the Fire Station are the smoke alarms, more that they are also Vape sensitive. The system is quite accurate and can pinpoint the trigger point to the exact location, which is reassuring.

Arrival at school for our late buses is something we have factored in for those students who have to catch them. We endeavour to ensure that they are apprised of any information they may have missed. What I am becoming perturbed by is the late arrivals of those students whose passage is not via a late bus. Please give your daughters a rocket to get themselves organised to get here on time.

I sent this previously but as a reminder May 11 is a Teachers’ Only Day for Secondary Schools in this region. These have been called PPTA Accord Days.

Support staff will still be at school and Boarding remains open, but all our teaching staff will be engaged with teaching staff from other secondary schools in preparing for the NCEA changes. That means that there will be NO CLASSES on this site.

There will be another two days like this later in the year: August 5 and December 1. As previously communicated, these days are set aside to support the implementation of changes to NCEA, and wider strengthening of curriculum, progress, and achievement practice.

Finally your frustration with not being able to access the Portal to check results for your daughters is a shared emotion. Our technology providers are working hard to rectify this. Should there be some urgency for you in the meantime please contact your daughter’s Whanau teacher.

Take care, have a safe weekend

Ngā Mihi

Kiri

Teacher Only Day - Tuesday 11 May

Around School this Week

ANZAC Commemoration

Adventure Racing

Year 7/8 Activities Afternoon

On Wednesday after school our Years 7/8 girls were entertained in the gym by our Year 13 Leaders. A huge thank you to Freya Cook, Bella Milne, Sophie Renton, Jade Baker, Skye Ryan, Zoe Sheehan and Audrey Jamieson for the time they spent with the younger girls.

Cycling

On Sunday 2 May St Matthew’s Collegiate entered teams into the Hope Gibbons Team Time Trial (cycle race). For the junior teams the course was 20 kms in length, two laps of a circuit beginning at South Featherston School. The weather was extremely kind to all participants, crisp and still to begin with, but warming as the race progressed. Junior teams were allowed 3 riders per team and were timed on the 2nd rider to cross the finish line. In the senior section of the race, there were 4 members to each team, with the finish time being taken on the 3rd rider to cross the finish line.

Results

Girls Junior Gold:

1st Junior Girls - Amelia Percy, Sophie Goodin, Jaimee Blackburn in a time of 38 minutes 34 seconds

2nd Junior Girls – Annabelle Smith, Maddie Stevenson in a time of 42 minutes 33 seconds

1st Senior Women – Lesley Mouat, Darlene van der Leek, Belinda Fuller, Donna Burkhart in a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes and 18 seconds. This team retain the President’s Cup for the Women’s section of Hope Gibbons.

Congratulations to all the riders for a job well done, and many thanks to Mrs Penny Walker, Manager for the teams.

School Notices

Open Afternoon

Open Afternoon is Week 3 - Tuesday 18 May. We need some girls to stay behind after school and help with tour guiding. If you daughter can help please direct her to Miss Glass. Open Afternoon ends at 5pm and afternoon tea will be provided. South Wairarapa girls will need to leave a little earlier to catch the late bus.

Coming Up on the Calendar......

Term Two - Week Two

Monday 10 May - Gold/Silver Duke of Edinburgh Tramp, Whanau Group, Junior Choir, Junior Production Rehearsal, Viva Rehearsal

Tuesday 11 May - Teacher Only Day, Gold/Silver Duke of Edinburgh Tramp, Years 7/8 Young Leaders Day (Wellington)

Wednesday 12 May - Gold/Silver Duke of Edinburgh Tramp, Culture Group Rehearsals, Viva Rehearsal, Youth Group

Thursday 13 May - Junior Chapel, School Activities, Friends of SMS Meeting

Friday 14 May - Student Council, Jazz Band, Whanau Time

Term Two - Week Three

Monday 17 May - World Vision Leadership Day, Year 12 Geography Trip, Whanau Time, Junior Choir, Junior Production Rehearsal, Viva Rehearsal

Tuesday 18 May - Senior Chapel, Open Afternoon 2pm-5pm

Wednesday 19 May - Year 13 Transition Trip, Prefect Assembly, Orchestra, Culture Group Rehearsal, Viva Rehearsal, Youth Group

Thursday 20 May - Junior Chapel, Intercollegiate Cross Country, School Activities, BOT Meeting

Friday 21 May - Student Council, Pink Shirt Mufti Day, Years 10/11 Food Trip, Taupo Equestrian, Jazz Band

Community Events

Friends of SMS

There is a meeting for the Friends of St Matthew's on Thursday 13 May, 6.30pm in the Boardroom. The Entrance is via the Hampton House carpark. All welcome. If you would like any information on the Friends of St Matthew's please email Jen Butler at: friends@stmatts.school.nz.